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[GUST] Games. Going all in with All-Star Atelier, Nelke out late March 2019, Lulua in May.

I would point out that the comparison between mountains and plains is one that may offend the origin reyvateils but... I'll leave it there...

I screwed myself over on my first (english) playthrough of AT2 because I have a really bad habit of not touching save points for really long times. Which coupled with certain events only accessible when you rest at a save point means that time limited talk-matters might be missed... And when you need one such time limited talk-matter OR collect and treat all 100 I.P.Ds to unlock the next level of the cosmosphere...
Yeaaaaaah... I'm not seeing the end of it this playthough...

Edit:
Just thinking back, man, I really wish the Exa Pico universe had more stuff done in it. The events surrounding the Grathnode disaster and the subsequent age leading up to Mir's revolt is just too interesting to leave fallow.

Yeah, that's always been one of the issues with the Ar Tonelico series that I can't really get past. Every protagonist is a complete and utter toolbox. AT2 is really the only exception, with Croix being more aloof than just utterly incompetent. Even Delta in Ar NoSurge just oozes this 'I was dropped on my head as a baby, but I'm trying really hard' attitude nearly all the time. And yeah, there's a somewhat canon reason why he's that way, but it doesn't explain away his entire mentality. And no, Earthes doesn't count for obvious reasons.

It's why I grew to like the Atelier series more, because that series knows how to set up a specific protagonist very well. Atelier is all about the female protagonist that's unapologetic girly and learning as she goes, and they own it so well and wrap the games around the premise so expertly that there's barely room to complain. This young lady is learning alchemy for a very personal goal, and everyone else befriends her and follows her adventures to make sure she doesn't die horribly along the way.

Edit:
Just thinking back, man, I really wish the Exa Pico universe had more stuff done in it. The events surrounding the Grathnode disaster and the subsequent age leading up to Mir's revolt is just too interesting to leave fallow.

We could call Ciel nosurge being an experiment on showing the stories that would have been left to the setting encyclopedias in the previous three games, and unfortunately, it also showed that if they ever depicted these events in a game, it would be one that would have zero possibilities of having a happy ending without breaking canon.

Also, Ar nosurge

foreshadows the Grathnode Inferia if you take the time to talk to the people in Kurt Pheyna near the end of the game

I need to see more of the combat before I'm completely sold. They're not using a modified version of Dusk's last system, which is a shame because that was the best system yet. I have a feeling it'll be a step down from Shallie, but if that means the alchemy is more fun then I'll take the exchange.

So hey, Gust news and finally a reason for me to resurrect my thread. Atelier Sophie just got release dates outside Japan. It's set for release in the US June 7 for PS4 retail and Vita digital download, and a June 10 release date for Europe. First announcement trailer:

Also, there's a $100 Limited Edition of the PS4 version on sale at the NISA Online Store.

Kinda jazzed about this mostly because of the 38 track, 2-disc OST. Think this might be the first time they've offered a legitimate full OST in the West.

Also, Nights of Azure comes out on PS4 in the US in a little over a week, so there's that too.

Preordered Nights of Azure last week. Glad to hear about Sophie, will have to get that ordered as well.

I still need to get the last Atelier game actually.

I'd say out if all the PS3 Atelier games, Shallie has the best combat by far. A shame Sophie's trying something brand new, but that might also mean better alchemy, which has been lacking latey.

A better crafting system would be the worst thing that could happen. I can already spend hours trying to break the crafting system in Dusk games as it is. A crafting system that's even more addictive would probably burn out my PS4.

And in case anyone is interested in Ar tonelico-related developments, there's been a wealth of fantranslations these last few months:

- All the Ar tonelico 1 drama CDs have gotten translated. They feature stories that go from Spica and Claire's pasts, to showing what Aurica and Misha were doing at a couple points they weren't in the party, and the Extra one serves as a mini-epilogue for the game showing the heroines interacting without Lyner around, as well as also setting up Mir's reappearance in Ar tonelico 2: http://artonelico.wikia.com/wiki/ARM_Backup/Other_translations

- All the light novels excepting for the Ar tonelico 2 one (which is in progress) have been translated. The one for Ar tonelico 1 serves as an epilogue to the first game featuring a minor-scale version of the crisis that led Mir to start her war against the humans and showcases for first and only time the appearance of the Reyvateils' collective subconscious. On the other hand, the Ar tonelico 3 novels are the finale for the whole series, featuring the casts from the three games joining forces to find a way to save Tyria: http://artonelico.wikia.com/wiki/ARM_Backup/Light_Novel_translations

- And finally, all the Flash Cosmosphere mini-games that Gust developed were reprogrammed and translated to English, as well as the Class-Arnosurge-Proto JavaScript novel that was made as an interquel between Ciel nosurge and Ar nosurge: http://ar-ciel.unit03.net/

- The Ciel nosurge Story in English project blackraen is carrying out is at an advanced stage, as he should be beginning the last third of the story very soon: www.youtube.com/channel/UCwSajs2z_UH3CYeD29mgilg

I'll be honest here, it's a goddamn shame they had to quasi-start over with the Exa Pico series. The Ar Tonelico games finally had enough background and story in them to really make what was next interesting. Then they had to all but change everything, because I believe NISA has the rights to the names and didn't come with Gust when they were bought by KT. Ar Nosurge really felt like they were trying to cram three games of background into one game, primarily because the West would never get Ciel Nosurge.

I think their last few games would've been incredible if they could've stuck with the original world, either making prequels or perhaps a new trilogy set back on Ar Ciel itself. I don't think Exa Pico has the same benefits as the Atelier series. Exa Pico's main draw is the story, which is really hard to reset to make a new set of games. Atelier's main draw is Alchemy though, and can draw on whatever it wants really, as long as the main themes and gameplay of the series remain intact.

I dunno what to make of the Nosurge series right now. Is it weird to suggest that maybe having it be part of Exa Pico was holding it BACK? Maybe having to lose so much lore meant it would've worked better if they dropped all elements of Exa Pico and started something brand new. I'd hate to see Exa Pico drop, but these last few games just didn't FEEL like the others, and I dunno if it'll get as much of a fanbase setting itself up as a series riding on Ar Tonelico's coattails rather than a legitimate extension of the universe.

They really didn't start over it, as the concepts and lore introduced in the Surge Concerto games are mostly consistent with everything that was introduced in Ar tonelico and actually explain some interesting things from it, such as where exactly the Orgel of Origins that powers up the whole First Tower gets its energy from, the origin of the Teru that had been sidestepped on for so long (since AT3 got released basically), and expansion on wave types that had been mentioned but hadn't gotten any sort of notoriety in Ar tonelico (Tz-Waves, R-Waves), and the theory on the Seven Dimensions that Ar tonelico only covered partially with the Beta-6D server and the powers of the Teru.

And the problem with Ar nosurge was solely the fact it was a sequel to a game that had no chances of being brought here, even though blackraen is doing his best to remedy that with his translation Let's Play series, and the same goes with aquagon translating the official world settings wiki and the information on the Ion Extend Talk Pack 3.

Also, Ciel nosurge already showed the bad side of making prequels to these games: that they have no chance of having a happy ending and would contrast greatly to the optimistic tone the series has. After all, if they decided to make a game covering the events that were explained in the setting encyclopedias, like the Grathnode Inferia, Mir's Rebellion, the First War Against the Goddess or the activation of Moocheriel, they would all end on a bittersweet or tragic note.

Similarly, there's really not much more to tell after AT3 given the way the novels, Tyria's Drama CD and the story for EXEC_VISIONDANCE_PLUGINs/. closed off every single plot thread that was pending on Ar Ciel... Well, the Surge Concerto games revealed that the Orgel of Origins could be a danger to the whole universe and they still haven't solved the problem that the First Tower's Grathnode Discs should be replaced to eliminate the Blast Line, so they have that as a possible plot for a future game.

Yeah, with the background history for the Ar tonelico series, any prequel would be depressing beyond belief because of all the crap that happens or is destined to happen.
As much as I'd love to have more, I'm satisfied with all the supplementary materials filling in the background and closing off AT3's plot threads.

Sounds like the end-of-act battle against Mir? Because the boss music changes depending on which girl you pick and it's hella tight for Aurica too. Sounds like you're just a little bit before the actualpick-your-girl point though - save early and save often!

Sounds like the end-of-act battle against Mir? Because the boss music changes depending on which girl you pick and it's hella tight for Aurica too. Sounds like you're just a little bit before the actualpick-your-girl point though - save early and save often!

I'm talking about the music for the fight:

Where you're fighting elmia-os in the real world, before the virus infects your girl. The fight music where you're fighting inside the cosmosphere was good too, but not nearly as good as the overworld fight.

Man, the game is doing a good job of making me feel bad about joining the search party. Why can't we just take both girls? I feel really bad about:

Abandoning Aurica to the grubby hands of the church. There's no way that the church in a video game can be good guys, and the pope-analogue already skeeves me out.

Both have histories that make you want to choose them, something they don't do as well in the second game. But most pick Misha for various reasons, me because her and Lyner have a history, and he needs to make up for outright fucking forgetting she exists.

Man, the game is doing a good job of making me feel bad about joining the search party. Why can't we just take both girls? I feel really bad about:

Abandoning Aurica to the grubby hands of the church. There's no way that the church in a video game can be good guys, and the pope-analogue already skeeves me out.

Both have histories that make you want to choose them, something they don't do as well in the second game. But most pick Misha for various reasons, me because her and Lyner have a history, and he needs to make up for outright fucking forgetting she exists.

It's because they knew it was pointless, because #3 is best girl automatically.

That's what I really love about Ar tonelico. The hymmnos are gorgeous to listen to on their own. And then you go through the lyrics and link them with the context of when they are sung and you get a double whammy of the feels.

Hmm, I think I went way farther in Aurica's cosmosphere than the game expected me to. Farther as in I finished the whole thing. I hope getting cosmosphere married to her won't keep me from completing Misha's path.

Hmm, I think I went way farther in Aurica's cosmosphere than the game expected me to. Farther as in I finished the whole thing. I hope getting cosmosphere married to her won't keep me from completing Misha's path.

In AT1, you can complete all of the cosmospheres and it won't matter. (this changes in AT2 to be more like what you described)

It is however handled far less elegantly in this game.

Which girl you choose to go with in Phase 2 locks you between the two girls.